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Seidel: MSU is No. 3 on my AP ballot after OSU, Miss.

Spartans jump TCU into third spot because of their body of work; TCU has not played ranked team

Michigan State players joined Air Force as they sing the Air Force fight song at the end of the game on Sept. 19, 2015, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.(Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press)

Ohio State went from two certain quarterbacks -- to a whole bunch of uncertainty.

Ole Miss stunned Alabama at home, 43-37.

Michigan State won a game it was supposed to win.

And Notre Dame keeps losing players but winning games.

In my Associated Press Top 25 ballot, I kept Ohio State ranked No. 1, even though the Buckeyes struggled to beat Northern Illinois, 20-13. Coach Urban Meyer called his team discombobulated. But the Buckeyes still have the nation’s longest winning streak at 16 games. And Northern Illinois is the defending Mid-American Conference champions with a history of knocking off Big Ten teams.

I vaulted Ole Miss from No. 15 in my poll to No. 2 after the Rebels beat Alabama, a team that I had previously ranked No. 2.

Why is Ole Miss ranked ahead of the Spartans?

This week, I have Ole Miss ahead of MSU because the Rebels’ six-point upset win over ‘Bama on the road is more impressive than MSU’s three-point win over Oregon at home. Also, Ole Miss has demolished the teams it was supposed to beat, twice putting up more than 70 points.

I moved MSU up to No. 3, jumping over TCU, because of the Spartans’ body of work. They opened the season on the road, winning against an in-state team; they have won at home against speedy, highly ranked Oregon; and they handled Air Force’s difficult, option attack.

As far as TCU, I dropped the Horned Frogs to No. 6 because they haven’t played a ranked team; and TCU gave up 37 points against one-win SMU in the Battle for the Iron Skillet. With eight minutes to play, it was a five-point game.

I moved LSU to No. 4 because it pounded Auburn, and Notre Dame cracked the top five. The Irish keep losing players, plugging in new parts, and it keeps working.

As far as Northwestern, I moved the Wildcats into my top 20. The Wildcats have given up only 16 points in three games, and their win over Stanford sure looks more impressive after Stanford’s victory over USC.